New cinema releases this week… Inception, The White Ribbon, Antichrist and Our Family Wedding.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Age Restriction: TBA
Inception is a Matrix-type psychological actioner by Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight. A first-rate cast of new generation actors led by Leonardo DiCaprio in an Ocean’s Eleven scenario use technology to tap into other minds and steal their ideas. When they’re tasked with interception, planting a thought in someone’s mind that could impact the world’s future, they’re met with unexpected resistance in a do-or-die mission of epic proportions. Solid performances, breathtaking visual effects, a powerful soundtrack and crisp architectural lines and textures make this film a must-see… once, twice and possibly thrice.
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Age Restriction: TBA
A small pre-WWI German village is plagued by several mysterious violent incidents, which fester a spirit of fear and suspicion in the community as the darker, repressed side of humanity begins to surface in Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon. This philosophical black-and-white mystery drama is a intriguing character study on the cycle of violence, taking a patriarchal and puratanical society and showing how warped values can corrupt humanity. Solid performances, inspired direction and a fascinating symbolic story on the roots of war make the 2 1/2 hour run time worth every minute.
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Genre: Drama
Age Restriction: 18LVS
Antichrist is a deeply disturbing psychological drama and a grusome, explicit horror that grapples with the human condition. Death, sorrow, pain and depression are seldom exorcised to such an extent in cinema, which is exactly why Lars von Trier chose to bring this harrowing drama to life. This highly controversial film breaks every rule in the book, pushing the bounds of arthouse-horror and possessing a sense of dread and evil in every frame. The cinematography is hauntingly beautiful, aided by a pensive soundtrack making Antichrist a sheer vision of evil. Inhumane depravity has never been so poetic and horrific as Dafoe and Gainsbourg give their all in strong performances. Antichrist is not recommended for sensitive viewers.
SPL!NGOMETER: 6/10
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Starring: Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Age Restriction: PG
Our Family Wedding combines a frantic wedding situation, a culture-clash scenario and a family feud into a romantic comedy. Despite its name cast and premise’s promise, the movie slips into a contrived, predictable, pointless and largely unfunny channel relying on racial stereotypes. The weak script fails to deliver on even the most obvious comedy moments with only one or two redeeming performances.
SPL!NGOMETER: 3/10
Tags: antichrist, durban, family wedding, inception, movies, our family wedding, spling, white ribbon
